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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Well, by now most of you should be aware of what I was talking about when I mentioned a "major announcement" back in my November 8th blog. Yes, I have written a book. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, I have written the first book that's exclusively about craft beer in Alaska. What's more, it's only the first of three.

Beer on the Last Frontier: The Craft Breweries of Alaska will be released in three volumes (calling them volumes sounds a bit pretentious, but what the heck...). The first volume, entitled Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island Breweries, is on sale now and covers the following breweries and brewpubs:

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Kenai River Brewing Company

Kassik's Brewery Company

Kodiak Island Brewing

Homer Brewing Company

Seward Brewing Company

St. Elias Brewing Company

The book is profusely illustrated with color photographs and contains interviews with each of the brewers, as well as detailed information about the breweries and their beers. Currently, it is only available via Amazon Kindle for $5.99, but it will hopefully be available in paperback from Amazon before Christmas for $8.99. Note that the photos in the paperback version will be in glorious black & white; if you go with the electronic version, you'll get them in color.

My wife Elaine and I have been working on this project for the last eight months, and we're very excited to see it finally coming to fruition. After the first of the year we will begin working on Volume II: The Breweries of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Everywhere in Between. Once that book is done, we will move on toVolume III: Southeast Alaska Breweries. Once we have covered the entire state, we will offer everything in a single volume.

If you're interested in picking up a copy, please click on the link to the left. If you do read it, please give me some feedback, either here or on the book's Amazon page.

Click to enlarge

So long as I'm in the shameless self-promotion mode, I should mention that registration has opened for the college class that I teach each spring semester, CED A157 The Art & History of Brewing. The class is held every Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 6:45 on the Kenai River Campus, starting on January 22, 2013 and running through April 30, 2013. Besides my scintillating lectures, there will be brewery tours, guest lecturers, and -- best of all-- beer tasted in every class. If you are interested, you can call 262-0330 for more details or for help registering for the class. Tuition is $165 plus and $18 lab fee (to pay for the beer). This will be my sixth time teaching the class and we always have a great time, so if you are at least twenty-one, live around Soldotna, and have Tuesday evenings free, it's a pretty good time.

Speaking of good times, it sounds like the beer tasting on November 17th at Mykel's Restaurant in Soldotna definitely qualified. Gene Diamond of Specialty Imports walked everyone through a selection of their European imports. The beers tasted were:

BitburgerPils

WeihenstephanHefe-Weissbier

AyingerBrau-Weisse

OrvalTrappist Ale

ChimayGrand Reserve

Samuel Smith'sOatmeal Stout

Lindeman'sFaro Lambic

An outstanding list, and one that makes me sad I had to miss the event, though my agents gave me a full report afterwards. Not to mention the outstanding appetizers the Mykel's served as accompaniment to these excellent beers.

While we're on the subject of beer dinners, Glacier BrewHouse in Anchorage has another great one on Wednesday, November 28th, at 6:30. Head Brewer Kevin Burton selected five different brews to pair with each of the five course, including a limited release on the 2012 Salmonberry Wheat with the dessert course. The cost is $75 (tip included) and I sure wish I could be in the big town to give it a try!

Also, mark you calendars: Glacier'sTwelve Days of Barley Wine starts on Monday, December 10th, and runs through Friday, December 21st. If you're going to be anywhere near Anchorage during that time, you really should stop by and stop by often. Here's the list:

Sticking with Anchorage breweries, King Street Brewing Company has released a new beer, their Winter Warmer, to celebrate the 1st Anniversay of their Tap Room.

Not to be out done, Gabe Fletcher at Anchorage Brewing Company has taken delivery of an honest-to-God coolship, the first of its kind in Alaska. Here's a photo of it that I "borrowed" from Jim "Dr. Fermento" Roberts' Facebook page:

You'll notice it's on wheels, so Gabe can move it around his "Brett Cave" as required.

Also at the Snow Goose, Pamela Hatzis and the rest of her crew at La Bodega will be having a Christmas Party on Wednesday, December 5th, from 6 to 9 PM. I'm told you should either wear holidays sweaters or Wild West attire...

I have also heard that The Last Frontier Brewing Company in Wasilla has a new brewer. Peripatetic Alaska brewing pioneer Ray Hodge stepped down as brewer back on October 2nd and moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina where he is involved in another brewery project. His understudy at Last Frontier, Robert "Bobby" Martin has taken over the duties as Brewmaster.

Over at Midnight Sun Brewing Company, you can do your Christmas shopping for the beer geek on your list by getting him or her a stainless steel growler. Based on the picture, I'd say they are black-finished Hydroflasks, with a silver MSBC logo. A very useful gift.

Moving down on to the Peninsula, Seward Brewing Company now has a new version of their IPA on tap. Sierra Nevada's2012 Celebration Ale is on sale at Fred Meyer. Kassik's Brewery has released their Smoked Russian Imperial Stout and their Chocolate Cherry Stout in bottles. Also, they are offering a 15% discount on all merchandise (excluding beer and beer containers) through Christmas Eve.

Well, now that we've plowed through all that news, let's do some beer reviews.

First up, Midnight Sun'sKodiak Brown Ale. This is another beer that I've been drinking for quite some time, but never gotten around to reviewing, probably because I first tried it before I started blogging. So let's correct that oversight.

Coming out of the can, it poured a a translucent ruby with a nice khaki-colored head. The aroma was an appealing mix of roast malt, caramel, and Pacific Northwest hops. Good mouthfeel, with the caramel malt leading the way, followed by a nice, balancing hop bitterness. 5% ABV, 24 IBUs. The is a great, easy-drinking brown, perfect with a meal or as a relaxing choice after a hard day's work.

Now let's move on to two beers from the new Gigantic Brewery in Oregon, which I got to try thanks to the generosity of Rob Weller of Specialty Imports. This brewery is getting as much buzz for its uniquely artistic labels as for their excellent beers.

First up, Beer #4, Black Friday Beer, an Imperial Cascadian Dark Ale. It poured black (naturally), with a big, dense tan head. The nose was packed with citrusy American hop aroma. Carbonation was good, with excellent up-front bitterness. Unlike some versions of this style, Black Friday has zero roasted malt flavors; it's all about the hops with this one. Extremely clean flavors, letting the hops stand alone on center stage. 8.1% ABV.

Beer #5 is The Royale. I'm a little unclear as to in what style category the brewer would place this beer, but I'd call it a Belgian Pale Ale. It poured a pretty orange-gold color, with a dense white head. The aroma is once again of citrusy hops.There's great carbonation and good mouthfeel, followed by lots of hop flavor and aroma, but not an excessive amount of hop bitterness, plus some Belgian yeast notes. It does a nice job of showcasing the hops with also subjecting your palate to a ton of IBUs. 6.3% ABV and very nice.

Rob also gave me a couple of ciders to sample. I would not claim to be a cider expert, though I did drink it fairly often when I lived in London. I tried a bottle of Hogan'sDry Cider. Cider is so different from beer that it always takes me a minute or two to recalibrate my palate from a carbonated, hopped beer to a flat, unhopped cider. However, once I did so, I found I really like the Hogan's. It was very dry, but unoaked, so the quality of the apples used really shown through. It was 5.8%ABV. If you enjoy ciders, I encourage you to give those made by Hogan's a try.

I also got to try ReunionAle '12, a collaboration brew from Shmaltz Brewing Company and Terrapin Beer Company.This beer has an absolute ton of stuff going on, as it's made with cocoa nibs, cinnamon, AND vanilla. It poured dark with ruby highlights and a big but not dense khaki head. All three of the special ingrediants were evident on the nose. It was unexpectedly light on the palate, perhaps even a bit too thin. The cocoa lead off the flavor profile, with the cinnamon making its presence felt via heat on the tongue. Overall, I found it a very interesting combo, but not more-ish, as the intensity of the spices brought on rapid palate fatigue. 8% ABV.

Finally, I did a couple of "reach backs" into my beer cooler last week. The first was on Tuesday, to celebrate my book being published. I pulled out a bottle of Midnight Sun'sArctic Devil Barley Wine. It had no label date, but I think it was from 2008. Whenever it was from, the cellaring had made it magnificent. The flavors had melded to perfection, the alcohol was deliciously warming, the mouthfeel was rich and complex... in a word, it was sublime.As good as Arctic Devil is upon release, I'm firmly convinced that three or four years in the cellar makes it substantially better.

My second reach back was a Batch #1 bottle of Love Buzz Saison from Anchorage Brewing Company, released in August of last year. since it was bottled with a dose of Gabe Fletcher's signature brett, I fully expected that 14 months in the bottle would resulted in a much drier and funkier brew. I was not disappointed. My tasting notes from 10/12/2011 don't even mention any brett notes, but they are certainly there now. The beer was bone dry, with the spiciness I tasted a year ago still present, but now mixed with a significant amount of funkiness. It's a totally different beer, but still delicious. If you've got any Batch #1 Love Buzz squirreled away, I recommend pulling a bottle out and giving it a try.

Well, that's about it for this week. I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. I should be back next week with more news and reviews.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I've got a ton of beer events to tell you about, so let's dive right in.

King Street Brewing Company has been on a real roll with their beer dinners lately. They had one last week on Wednesday, November 7th, at Jack Sprat in Girdwood, consisting of four courses and five beers. Jack Sprat has also added King Street'sIrish Stout to their line up. Then on Wednesday night this week (11/14/12), they had a return engagement at Sullivan's Steakhouse in Anchorage; it was another four courses paired with six King Street brews by Chef Dennis.

King Street also reports that their Oktoberfest sold out much quicker than they expected (which is a testament to how good it was), and that they are working on a new winter seasonal that should be ready late this month.

Gene Diamond of Specialty Imports will be having a beer tasting this Saturday (11/17/12) at Mykel's Restaurant in Soldotna. Admission is $38 and gets you the beer plus an extensive buffet of delicious appetizers from Mykel's.
There events typically sell out, so call 262-4305 for reservations.
The theme of this tasting will be European beers. If you'd like to get a
better idea of how these tasting events at Mykel's go, check out my blog from 9/28/2009.

Events for Alaska Beer Week are starting to be scheduled. Tickets are now on sale for the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival, via Ticketmaster. Specialty Imports has scheduled an "old vs. new" throwdown at Kinley's Restaurant on Wednesday night, January 16th. It's going to be our very own Kenai River Brewing going head-to-head with Samuel Smith's Brewery. This should be a great time, with plenty of great beer and exceptional food.

Arkose Brewing has announced a "Beerunch" of Sunday, January 20th, at Rusty's Restaurant in Palmer. It will be five course with five different Arkose beers. There will be two sessions, the first at 1 PM, the second at 3 PM. Cost is $55 a person.

Way up north in Fairbanks, HooDoo Brewing is open and they just put a new brew on tap, a Belgian single. Here's how they describe it on their website:

"Slight spice, peppery, candied toffee.The table beer of Monks. Light in body but still has complexity and
spice. Malty sweet with a delicious belgian candi sugar backbone and a
yeast spice. Hints of toffee, light caramel with a quick hop bitterness
to balance."

I haven't had a chance to try any of their stuff yet, but I'm very eager to do so.

Midnight Sun Brewing Company just released a new beer, Spenard Blonde, last night at the TapRoot Cafe in Anchorage. It's described as a crisp, hoppy, Belgian Blonde IPA. On tap at MSBC'sThe Loft is Oak Aged Even Dahker - an Imperial Porter aged in Oak Whiskey Barrels. 8.3% ABV/28 IBUs.

At The Snow Goose Pub/Sleeping Lady Brewing in Anchorage, their 2012 Old Gander Barley Wine should be released sometime this month. Meantime, this year's edition of their 12% ABV Spartan Imperial Stout is on tap.

At Kenai River Brewing, their next Single Hop IPA will be released tomorrow, Friday, November 16th. UK Pilgrim hops are the star of this version. I'm not familiar at all with this hop variety, so I'm looking forward to getting acquainted.

At St. Elias Brewing Company, there are two new beers on offer: Great Scott Amber Ale (see review below) and their award-winning Moosejuice Barley wine. This version of the barley wine was aged for a year in bourbon, rye whiskey, and brandy casks, before being blended back together.OK, let's hit this week's beer reviews.

First, thanks to the generosity of a friend, i got to try a bottle of Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. With a name like that, you'd assume that this would be a sweet or milk stout, but according to Bell's website, no lactose is used.It poured opaque with a small tan head and a nose of roasted malt with some sweet backing. It had great mouthfeel and lots of unfermented sugars and roasted flavors. Rich and delicious, it's another in the long list of beers that I wish were distributed in Alaska. 6.1% ABV.Next, there's the new brew on tap at St. Elias Brewing Company: Great Scott Amber Ale. Style-wise-- or at least as style-wise as Zach Henry gets-- this is a Scottish Export 80 ale. It was served crystal clear with an nice reddish color and a small, cream-colored head. The aroma was certainly malt forward, as per the style, but there was some balance from the East Kent Goldings hops used. Nice and clean on the palate, it falls away to a fine finish. Very drinkable and a good example of the Export 80 style. Finally, there's a new beer from Samuel Smith's Brewery that has just hit the area: Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout. Thanks to Rob Weller of Specialty Imports for hooking me up with a bottle to sample. I reviewed some of Sam Smith's organic line before; personally, I never thought the organic label was worth the extra price, as their non-organic beers taste just fine to me. Still if it's important to you, this brewery is obviously making the effort.The Organic Chocolate Stout poured very dark, but with ruby highlights, and a big khaki head. The nose was like a hot fudge sundae, with big aromas of both vanilla and chocolate duking it out. It smelled nothing at all like a beer to me. On the palate, the beer felt a little thin, perhaps because the aroma leads you to expect something a bit more chewy. There was a ton of chocolate flavor, sweet, but not so sweet as to be cloying. The finish was long and rich. I liked this beer, but I must admit that as I worked my way through the entire 500 ml bottle, I started to have some palate fatigue. Unless you are a total chocoholic, I recommend splitting a bottle with a couple of friends, perhaps with a dessert, or even as a dessert all by itself. A real tour de force, but not something I would drink every night.Well, that's about it for this week. seeing as next week is the Thanksgiving holidays, don't expect too much in the way of blogging, unless I get some breaking news that just has to go out. I hope you all eEnjoy your turkey day, eat lots of good food, and drink plenty of great beer.Until Next Time, Cheers!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Well, here I am again, trying to get caught up. No blog last week, for various reasons, none of which you care about, except for one. I've been working very hard to bring a writing project to fruition, and I'm very close to doing so. I'll say no more about it now, but hopefully in another couple of weeks I'll be making a major (at least to me) announcement.

Meantime, let's move on to some blogging.

First off, I came across the fairly fun graphic, which I thought I would share:

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I can't say as I agree with all the beer options, but it's still fun.

Next, some news from Alaskan Brewing Company. First, they have released their 2012 Smoked Porter, so we should see it in our local stores anytime now. This beer has won more medals than any other at the Great American Beer Festival; it's a real classic. Personally, I always buy a 12-pack to put in my crawlspace, since it cellars so superbly. That reminds me: I should probably go down there and get some 2006 & 2007...

Also from Alaskan: the latest "Rough Draft" is called Hopothermia Double IPA. It's hopped to 70 IBUs using Nugget and Apollo hops in the kettle, then finished with late additions of Amarillo, Citra, and Centennials. The only places on the Peninsula where I have ever seen Rough Drafts on offer are at Hooligans Saloon in Soldotna or the Seward Brewing Company in Seward, but if you're in Anchorage, you could try Humpy's or Cafe Amsterdam. If you manage to find Hopothermia, remember it's 8.5% ABV, so treat it with respect.

Finally, on December 1, Alaskan will be releasing the next beer in their Pilot Series of limited releases: Alaskan Imperial Red.

Up in Anchorage at Midnight Sun, there's a ton of stuff happening. I got a big data dump from Darcy Kniefel, MSBC's Beer Ambassador. Here's what she had to say about upcoming events and beer releases:

Events:

Wednesday, November 14th 6-9pm: "Spenard
Blonde" premier at TapRoot. Meet the Brewer and grab a pint of this crisp,
hoppy Belgian IPA. Available only on draft at TapRoot and The Loft @
Midnight Sun Brewing Company.

Thursday, November 15th, 5-7pm: America Recycles
Day: Midnight Sun will be pouring beer at a social sponsored by Green Star at
Kendall Lexus of Alaska. Free beer and light snacks, check out the recycling
barrel art created by local groups and artists (Midnight Sun will be designing 2
barrels). Each Barrel will be for sale to be used at local areas for
recycling.

Saturday- Friday, November 17 to the 23rd: Beer and
Truffle Flight 4 Modern Dwellers Truffles paired with 4 MSBC beers. We
had to drink a lot of beer and taste a lot of chocolate to come up with these
great pairings. Flight available throughout the week at The Loft @
Midnight Sun Brewing Company

Friday, November 23rd, 5pm: Black Friday
Firkin. Midnight Sun pairs up with Modern Dwellers as we tap a firkin of
our TREAT Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter, cask conditioned with cocoa nibs,
cinnamon sticks and Modern Dwellers Mayan Spice. Tapping by Zoe from
Modern Dwellers.

Friday, December 7th, 5pm First Firkin Friday:
Celebrate new art and the 5th Anniversary of LUST, Belgian Dark Strong Ale.
This is the last Lust anywhere on MSBC property and we are cask conditioning it
for this incredible night. Tapped at 5pm, might want to be early for this
one.

Sunday, January 13th, time tba: Sullivan's Beer
Dinner. MSBC pairs up with Sullivan's Steak House to present an incredible beer
dinner to kick off your AK Beer Week. Details to come...

Upcoming Beers:

Darcy says: "Please note all dates are current as
of this morning, but we reserve the right to bring a beer out earlier or later,
depending on what the beer decides it would like to do..."

Oaked Monk's Mistress on Nitro: Currently pouring at
The LoftOaked Son of a Berserker on Nitro: within 2 weeks
pouring on draft at the Loft, possibly another local locationCzech Yourself Pilsner - the crisp pilsner makes a
return for football season, basketball season, beer drinking season. Due
on tap at The Loft in the next 2 weeksSpenard Blonde: Belgian IPA premiering Wednesday,
November 14th, on draft at The Loft and TapRoot onlyIPA*, this beer is not yet named, but I will have
details soon. A single IPA (we have been calling it single IPA, which we
know is redundant, but when you make IPAs like we do it's a rare occasion it
isn't a double/Imperial/Belgian etc.) this smooth drinker was originally
loaded with Cascade and Chinook hops, then dry hopped with Cascade Citra.
It might be a single IPA, but our signature hop palette is right there.
Due on tap at The Loft late next week, I'll have a name for you soon.Obliteration 9 - Based off of Rye Not, this Double
Rye IPA will be stepping in to it's roll as our yearly hop Obliteration, Due in
Mid December.XXX - Double Black IPA, originally brewed for the
fine folks at Specialty Imports, is back for its yearly appearance. Due
in Mid December.Pride - The much anticipated release of Pride in the
Alaska's Most Wanted Series has been delayed until February. No beer
before it's time....

Speaking of Alaska Beer Week in January, tickets have gone on sale for the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival through Ticketmaster. You can order yours here.

Here on the Peninsula, Kassik's Brewery released three more of their beers in bottles on 1 November: Roughneck Stout, Spiced Cream Ale, and Buffalo Head Barley. Here are their labels.

Looking ahead, in late January they will be releasing their excellent Smoked Russian Imperial Stout in bottles as well. Here's the label for that one:

Before we move on to beer reviews, I'd like to mention that I reached a milestone. On June 5, 2010, I started using the 33 Bottles of Beer booklets to document my beer reviews. Prior to that, I was incredibly haphazard in how I wrote things down. Anyway, on the night of November 6, 2012, I finished my 12th booklet, meaning I've reviewed 396 beers in 30 months, which translates to one about every 2.27 days. I've drunk more beer than that, of course, since I only write a review for any given beer once, and I don't review every single new brew I try. Still, I think it's a pretty good achievement. Now it's time to start booklet #13...

It's also time for me to mention that I'll be offering my beer appreciation class again this spring, CED A157 The Art & History of Brewing, at 5:30 to 6:45 on Tuesday nights from 1/22/13 to 4/30/13. I you live in the Kenai/Soldotna area and are interested in a fun and interesting class about beer, you might consider it. You can call the college at 262-0330 for more info.

Now, let's do some beer reviews:

Last blog I mentioned several new beers on tap locally, but I'd actually tasted none of them. The has been rectified. Let's start with Kenai River Brewing's two new offerings.Almost Imperial Red: This beer poured a deep copper color, with a nice cream-colored head. The aroma was of caramel with a touch of hops. Good up front bitterness from the 52 IBUs, with nice mouthfeel and good carbonation, falling away to a smooth finish. 7.5% ABV explains the "almost" status; I guess you need to make 8% to really be imperial. An excellent beer, quite drinkable.Citra Imperial Rye Pale Ale (CIRPA): Almost everyone loves Citra hops; there massive citrus aroma and flavors have made them extremely popular these days. Take that hop and mix it with Kenai Brewing's excellent Imperial Rye Pale Ale (see my review on 5/18/2012), and this is what you get. It poured a dark, clear copper with a big, off-white head and excellent lacing on the glass. The aroma is a no-doubter: Citra hops and plenty of 'em! Quite bitter, as you'd expect, but it doesn't really taste like 103 IBUs and there's plenty of hop flavor as well as bitterness. It hides its 9% ABV all too well, putting this one firmly in the Dangerously Drinkable category. This is a really exceptional beer, strangley balanced for such an over-the-top brew. Get it while you can, as I predict it will sell fast.

Moving on to St. Elias Brewing Company, I haven't yet had any of their Oktoberfest, but I did get to try two of their other beers. The rumor mill has it that they will also be putting a new Scottish style on soon.Gold ESB:It poured a dark copper, crystal clear, with a big cream-colored head. The the nose was very clean, with lots of floral hops. I'm going to guess East Kent Goldings. On the palate there was good carbonation, and a nice, clean bitterness. This beer is very British in its excellent balance, and I can't wait to try it on cask. Another excellent brew from Zach Henry.Cereal Killer Porter: This beer is another example of Zach's style-bending. He calls it an oatmeal porter, which isn't something you're going to find in the BJCP style guidelines. It's basically a robust porter with some oats added to the mash bill. It poured opaque with a nice tan head and good lacing on the glass. The aroma had plenty of roasty notes, very appealing. On the tongue there was good mouthfeel, with some silkiness from the oats, but none of the roasted barley bite that you'd get from a stout. some nice earthiness from the Fuggles used to hop it. Unusual but delicious.

Finally, I had two beers from Outside. The first was brought back from my hometown of New Orleans by a friend from work: Save Our Shores Weizen Pils from Abita Brewing Company of Abita Springs, LA. We don't get their beers up here in Alaska, which is too bad, as they are uniformly excellent. This particular brew was created after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and part of the proceeds goes for relief and recovery.It poured a beautiful golden pils color with a huge white head and good lacing. The nose was full of the aroma of German Perle hops; Sterling hops were also used. Excellent clean pils flavors, full of good, clean bitterness. This was an outstanding pilsner; I wish I could have gotten a dozen of them. 7% ABV.

My last beer is another good one from Deschutes Brewing in Oregon: Chasin' Freshies Fresh Hop IPA. These fresh hop ales are all about the hop flavor and aroma. It poured a crystal clear gold with a dense white head. The aroma was what you want in this style, fresh bright hops. I don't know the particular varieties used, but the weren't piney or resiny at all. The mouthfeel was light, with plenty of bitterness and a clean, crisp taste. Enjoyable at 7.4% ABV.

Well, that's about it for this time. Get out and enjoy some good craft beer with your holiday meals.

Earned for Alaska Beer: Liquid Gold in the Land of the Midnight Sun

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Who am I?

I'm a retired naval officer, and I have also retired from my second career as the Student Services Director of a community campus that is part of the University of Alaska. These days I am a full-time freelance writer on beer and other subjects. I've been homebrewing and drinking craft beer for over twenty years. I teach a college course called The Art & History of Brewing. I write a monthly beer column for The Redoubt Reporter newspaper. I am the Alaska Correspondent for the Northwest Brewing News, and I was selected as Wynkoop Brewing's 2010 Beerdrinker of the Year.